Portage County, WI Trash & Recycling: Recycling Rules (2026)

Section 4.8.7, General Public Provisions, applies to everyone in Portage County: recyclable materials belong to the owner or occupant of the property where they are set out until collection, and it is 'prohibited for anyone to scavenge or steal any recyclable materials from another person.' Once recyclable materials reach the county recycling facility at 600 Moore Road in the Village of Plover and are accepted there, § 4.8.7 makes them the property of Portage County. Collectors face their own duties under § 4.8.5: they must refuse contaminated, hazardous, or improperly separated recyclables, display the owner's or operator's name and address plus the Wisconsin DNR waste-collection license number on both sides of their collection vehicle, transfer materials without discharging litter, and report any illegal discharge or abandonment of recyclable materials to the Solid Waste Management Board (SWMB) or the County in writing within 48 hours.

Section 4.8.6 similarly bars users from delivering contaminated or unacceptable recyclables to the facility and requires secured loads on any vehicle hauling recyclables in. Section 4.8.1 places enforcement of the whole recycling chapter with the Portage County Sheriff's Office, the Solid Waste Director and the Solid Waste Site Coordinator, acting under authority granted by Wis. Stat. §§ 287.05(7), 287.09(3)(b), 287.11 and 287.13.